Summary of editorials from the Hebrew press

​The Jerusalem Post examines the increasing openness of the Haredi community to secular education and its subsequent entrance to the contemporary labor market, and contends that this “has important and eminently positive ramifications for the future of Israel’s economy.” The editor notes that due to its growth in size and the major changes it is undergoing, within a few generations the Haredi community “will have to be taking a more pragmatic approach to education and work,” and adds: “That will be a blessing for the State of Israel.”

Haaretz calls on Prime Minister Netanyahu to “declare an Israeli peace initiative, and state what he believes is essential and what he would agree to compromise on to fulfill the ‘Bar-Ilan vision’ for the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.” On the backdrop of the French initiative, the editor urges the prime minister to “take advantage of the Paris summit as a basis to rally international support for his initiative.” The editor contends that should he do so, “he will contribute to Israel’s future and its security much more than by empty arguments with foreign statesmen.”

Yediot Aharonot comments on the apparent rift between Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ya’alon, but notes that the prime minister’s reasons for making the disagreement public are political, an attempt to signal to his detractors “that he’s not thrilled with the Defense Minister’s actions.” The author points out that “The Prime Minister and Defense Minister have supposedly put their differences to rest, but the divide between them is deeper than it may seem,” and expects them “to clash again, sooner rather than later.”

Israel Hayom believes that Opposition Leader Isaac Herzog’s recent efforts to join the coalition result from a new international diplomatic initiative that will include Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United States, but is uncertain whether this will be enough to justify the expansion of the coalition. The author notes the aggressive detractors of the expansion amongst both Labor and Likud MKs, but argues that even though the argument may intensify in coming days, “Whether or not the coalition expands, the political map will have been redrawn.”